Centre working to meet critical shortage in armed forces: Bhamre

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) The government is working tirelessly to tackle critical shortages in the armed forces and designing policies in a manner to make procurements fast and transparent, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said on Monday.

Bhamre was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 2nd annual conclave of foreign defence attaches here.

Quoting a 2015 statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government was spending tens of billions of dollars on acquisitions from abroad and that 20 to 25 per cent reduction in imports could directly create additional jobs in India, Bhamre said: “This is why defence is at the heart of our Make in India programme.”

“We have reformed our defence procurement policies and procedures. There is now clear preference for equipment manufactured in India. Our procurement procedures will ensure simplicity, accountability, and speedy decision-making,” he said.

He said the Make in India initiative provides a huge opportunity and the government would like to invite global defence companies to take advantage of India’s position as a huge market while simultaneously sharing technology.

The Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 and its Chapter on Strategic Partnership provides the necessary methodology for such partnerships to flourish, he said.